News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO and CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--(Marketwire - March 30, 2012) - North American equity markets are rebounding this year after a volatile 2011. U.S. stocks are surging, with the S&P 500 Index reaching its highest close in almost four years on Monday. However, despite positive returns in Canada during the first quarter of 2012, the market is lagging behind its global peers. On the currency front, while the Canadian and U.S. dollars have, for the most part, remained at par, each faces ongoing domestic and international pressures.

Join BMO's Andrew Busch and Paul Taylor as they provide insights and an outlook for North American equity and currency markets. Topics will include:

• What should investors and portfolio managers on both sides of the border keep in mind in their search for top performing stocks?
• Can the gains made by the U.S. economy in the last quarter continue through Q2 2012?
• What is holding Canada's equity market back? Can it catch up to U.S. and international growth rates?
• How should investors react to fluctuations in interest rates?
• How might presidential politics and potential changes in the health care industry affect Wall Street's recovery?
• Will the U.S. Federal Reserve engage in further quantitative easing after the completion of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) 'Operation Twist' in June?
• How will the Fed's announcement that interest rates will remain low impacting the U.S. dollar?
• Is the Canadian loonie morphing into a petro-dollar?
• International pressures: the potential impact of a cooling Chinese economy, ongoing issues in the Eurozone and tensions in the Middle East

Media are invited to participate through conference call: (416) 695-7806 or 1-888-789-9572; Passcode: 4800263